Analysis of Starbucks coffee company’ employees misunderstanding using organizational behaviour approach Essay

Analysis of Starbucks coffee company’ employees misunderstanding using organizational behaviour approach Introduction                   In every organization, organization behaviour is very important at all levels of employees from management to workers. Organizational behaviour deals the study of personality of individuals or characteristic of a group in an organization together with internal processes of an organization in order to determine the effectiveness of the organization or develop a solution (Hellriegel, & Slocum, 2010 p. 5). It helps people to interact, understand each other and find solution to behavioural problems, which culminate in improved working environment thus resulting to improved productivity. Therefore, it is important for management to ensure that effective employees accepted behaviour is maintained throughout the organization. It is important to understand organization behaviour so that decision making process and requirements of employees are addressed in the best ways that would not affect performance of a company (Mullins, 2013 p. 77). This paper will involve solving organization problem that faced Starbucks Coffee Company in 2005. The problem involved misunderstandings between employees and management resulting in communication problem in the company, which greatly affected its productivity in New Zealand (Mark, 2013 p. 10). The problem caused employees dissatisfaction and lack of motivation and thus giving poor services that in turn decreased production output and thus the company making losses. The misunderstanding between employees and management led to change of employees’ behaviour and so it was important to change their behaviour in order to realize the productivity of the company. Employees’ dissatisfaction and misunderstanding in an organization causes low commitment from employees thus affecting the performance of an organization (Hellriegel, & Slocum, 2010 p. 502). Although the problem could be addressed using various organizational techniques such as organizational development, organizational behaviour approach remained the best technique to find the solution of the matter so as to improve the effectiveness of the company.                   Starbucks coffee company is a multinational corporation (MNC) that was started in Seattle in 1971 (Starbucks Coffee Company, 2014 b Company Information. Starbucks Coffee Company). The company specialises in coffee and coffee products. It has its stores established across the six continents with most of the market being concentrated in America, Europe and Asia. The company has more than 15,000 stores in more than 50 countries in six continents. The company performance and productivity increased steadily over years becoming among the best coffee selling company in the world. It continued growth and development led to opening of a new store in New Zealand in 1998 (Starbucks coffee company, 2014 a Extends the Starbucks brand into grocery channels across the U.S. Launches Starbucks.com). In New Zealand, Starbucks has more than 29 stores and over 3,700 employees serving more than 60,000 customers every day operating under restaurant Brands franchise (Starbucks Coffee Company, 2014 c Starbucks Coffee Company New Zealand; Restaurant Brands, 2014 About Us-Restaurant brands). Similarly, the store in New Zealand has improved growth and development giving it advantage in the market. However, poor management in 2005 led to it making losses due to misunderstanding between employees and management. Communication barrier caused by misunderstandings were the major causes of its poor performance (Phillips, & Gully, 2012 p. 497).                   The company’s organization culture involves innovative products such as wifi coffee house and employees motivation through reward and attractive remunerations. Similarly, the company advocated for organizational culture where highly trained employees give high quality services to clients through exceptional performances that has rewards (Moncarz, Zhao, & Kay, 2009 p. 447). This culture has enabled the company to have competitive advantage and be able to command a large share of market in all its stores opened across the globe. New Zealand is one of the openings that has also had an exceptional growth and contributed to the growth of the company. However, the growth was halt in 2005 when the company suffered loss that was caused by misunderstanding between various levels of management. The misunderstanding was a result of a decision made by the management not to increase their wages to $ 12 per hour as employees had requested. The company has also been said to discriminate its employees by giving low wages as evidenced in Starbucks stores in New York (Bussing-Burks, 2009 p. 90). The decision affected the relationship between employees and management. Moreover, the performance of the employees was negatively affected and as a result the behaviour of the employees changed from the culture of exceptional performance and quality services to employees thus affecting the company’s performance.                   In every organization, employees and managements operate under a pre-established behaviour that ensures its effectiveness. A positive behaviour must be maintained or improved so as to improve the performance of the company (Luthans, & Youssef, 2007 p. 337). Therefore, the management must ensure an optimum business environment is highly maintained so as to maintain the behaviour of employees’ at the most effective and productive level. Consequently, management should try to maintain their management behaviour because their behaviour can influence that of the employees (Gelf, Erez, & Aycan, 2007 p. 494). The combination of this behaviour towards the effectiveness of an organization ensures that a positive culture is maintained and that the organization is able to maintain its productivity, growth and development. Similarly, solutions to crises are easily laid off.                   In order to address this problem, organizational behaviour models or theories were useful in encouraging the employees and management to change their behaviours and adapt their past or new behaviour that would ensure effectiveness in the company. Some theoretical approaches to this problem included systems, neo-human relations, decision-making, scientific leadership, human relations, and bureaucratic approach (Mullins, 2013 p. 43). The organizational behaviour models are important in addressing human behaviours and understandings their relations for effective implementation of changes that would ensure company’s productivity in maintained and improved.                   Neo-human relations approach entails how an organization is able to define structures of management in a way that it is able to motivate employees through satisfying their basic needs and giving attractive remunerations. The model helps in addressing employees’ dissatisfaction (Mawhinney, 2011 p. 313). In addition, the approach focuses on the needs to address to the employees’ issues such as salary increment and other needs. An organization that uses this approach is able to maintain it high predominance and growth. A solution to the problem at Starbucks coffee company required management adapt to neo-human approach by making sure that the needs of the employees could be attended. The solution could be realised if management could increase plan to increase the salary of the employees to $ 12. The increment could be promised to be done in phases so that the financial performance of the company would not be affected. Consequently, employeesâ €™ motivation could b e achieved that could results in increased productivity of the company. However, leaving the situation without a solution would result in strikes, which would further affect the reputation of the company in addition employees reduced performance. Organization that does not understand the behaviour of the employees fails to meet the needs of employees and this may cause passive participation and resistance in place of work (Bloisi, Cook, & Hunsaker, 2007  p. 113). Strikes coupled to employees’ underperformance could greatly affect the company and can cause its collapse if an immediate action could be delayed. From this approach, the responsibilities of leaders are to make sure that the goals of workers are achieved so that they can facilitate the achievement of the company’s goals (Bratton, 2010 p. 200).                   Decision making model would also be an important approach to address the problem with Starbucks coffee company. In decision making model, a decision that is arrived at is not a necessarily an optimal solution but a solution that benefits all the parties and enhance the performance of the company (Klein, 2008 p. 457). The decision making model optimise the change of behaviour that is goal oriented. The manner in which a decision is made is important in a company (Griffin, & Moorhead, 2013 p. 215). An organization that is able to make ethical decisions have high likely hood of succeeding and achieving high growth. Poor decision making results in poor management and misunderstanding between the management and employees and end up affecting the performance of the company negatively (Stein, 2010 p. 87). This is what was experienced in Starbucks Company in year 2005. The decision to decline to raise the payments of employees without a major reason or a proper communication caused the management to find themselves in a crisis of management and performance of the company. The problem can be addressed through ethical decision making process where all the stakeholders are involved in decision making (Punnett, 2009 p. 31). In ethical decision making, the views of the employees could have been addressed and that of the company ending up in a compromising situation where both parties issues are met in agreement.                   The figure 1 above showing a decision making problem that helps an organization to limit unethical decisions that could affect the performance of the company. The decision to decline wage increment was supposed to follow all the steps while involving stakeholders and thus the decision would not have affected the employees’ behaviour.                   The problem in Starbucks could also be addressed using scientific leadership model. In this model, the efficiency in work place can be monitored and adjusted accordingly using various leadership skills such as charisma (Nelson, & Quick, 2012 p. 443). The model is useful in understanding the objective and goals of the company so that every issue or problem is addressed in accordance to the goal of the company (Borkowski, 2011 p. 201). In this model, managers are the overall supervisors of the company and that they should make sure that the company does not lose for their mismanagement. For this reason, managers assign job to employees and monitor so that they are able to give an output of a quality work. Therefore, the management was responsible to manage the work of employees throughout so that they would have made sure that every employee was productive and thus preventing underperformances during the crisis period (Punnett, 2009). The approach makes su re that the goal of the company is always on the focus and so its growth is not compromised irrespective of the problem. Starbucks management had failed to utilize this approach and they left the company to be controlled by employees changed behaviour thus low performance. The model is important to every company that is facing employees’ performance crisis so that they performance of the company remain on focus.                   The figure 2 above shows the model for scientific leadership models. The decision that is made is focused on the outcome as shown in the figure above. All the other factors should be considered ensuring that goal of the company is not compromised.                   Human relations or organization behavioural theory is another model that is best for addressing the problem at Starbucks. It bias important for an organization to understand the behaviour of employees other than economic value such as wages (Netting, & O’Connor, 2013 human relations). How workers relate with each other in place of work determines their performance in places of work and known as â€Å"Hawthorne Effect† (Dalton, Hoyle, & Watts, 2011 P. 13). The model was found to be operational in both informal and formal organization. A good relation between employees and management allows smooth decision making resulting in quick and better solution. In addition, good interpersonal relation in an organization helps to improve the performance of employees and workers (Reece, 2014 p. 5). This model would have allowed the management to make appropriate decision on the workers pay and prevent misunderstanding thus maintaining the performance of the company.                   System model would also be important in addressing misunderstanding problem that led to poor performance of Starbucks coffee company. In this approach the company is able to measure the output in respect to internal operations. The management is able to monitor all the production processes and be able to evaluate the performance of the company on the basis of employees’ productivity (Mbanote, 2011 Models of organizational behaviour). Therefore, the management would have been able to realise that there was a problem before hand and employ various management skills before a problem could erupt. When productivity of employees decline, the management finds the immediate cause and addresses the problem giving an immediate and effective decision (Noble, 2014 p. 15). The problem of employees payment would have been addressed before the company could make losses through low productivity. Consequently, the employees would not have reached to the extent of dissatisfaction and reduced performance. Thereby, the performance of the company would not have been affected.                   Contingency model is another important organizational behaviour theory that was useful for Starbucks coffee company. In contingency model, a situation forces adaptation of the best leadership skills (Tushman, & Romanelli, 2008 p. 174). In other words, it is situational leadership skills that leader are capable of developing in order to adjust their leadership and relationship behaviour to address the situation at hand. The model was developed by a management theorist named Fred Fiedler in 1967 (Singh, 2010 p. 275). In Starbucks coffee company, the effectiveness of leaders in the prevailing situation was important in addressing employees’ dissatisfaction in their decision. The contingency models require leaders to adjust with the situation so that the performance of an organization is not affected. However, the management in Starbucks New Zealand Company compromised on the prevailing situation resulting in decreased performance of employees and pro ductivity of the company. The case required an immediate decision that would have maintained the motivation of employees and job satisfaction. An immediate meeting with employees’ union leaders and addressing the issue would have kept the hope of employees a live and they would have continued performing at their level best thus the growth and productivity of the company would have been maintained. Moreover, reverse of the decision and initiation of a new process to make an alternative decision that would involve all the employees’ representatives and other stakeholders would have calmed the situation. This would have prevented employees from changing their behaviour and focus on the goal of the company to improve its productivity. Contingency model of leadership is one of organizational behaviour that has been adapted by many corporations that have found themselves in crisis and needs to save the company (Zaccaro, 2007 P. 6).                   Bureaucracy model is one of the management models that is highly used in Starbucks coffee company. The level of management is divided in levels of management and this make it difficult for employees to interact with the top management directly. The high level of bureaucracy serves as an obstacle of employees to air their grievances and thus any decision or problem must be addressed through a hierarchical process making it to take a lot of time (Greenberg, 2013 bureaucratic model-ideal types). In the case that happened to Starbucks would have been solved in good time and minimized the effect that was caused by the situation. However, the decision had to follow a protocol that took a lot of time and some of the decisions were being objected at different levels. Therefore, employees got impatient and they started reiterating through low performance and low productivity that affected greatly the performance of the company. Bureaucratic model of organization management requires solution to situations that are not urgent and that may not affect the productivity and effectiveness of the company (Boin, & Hart, 2007 p. 43). An urgent situation requires quick decision making and action before an organization is affected negatively. Therefore, urgent solution was required in Starbuck and so bureaucratic model was not appropriate. Conclusion                   Organization behaviour is the study how individual and groups of people interact with the internal processes of an organization with respect to effectiveness of a company. Starbucks coffee company experienced a change in behaviour of employees in New Zealand after a misunderstanding on the increment of wages to $ 12 a day. The employees’ change of behaviour affected the effectiveness of the company resulting to poor economic performance. Therefore, it was necessary for the company to apply various organization behaviour models or theories in order to understand and address the change in behaviour so that the effectiveness of the company in providing services and products could be resumed. Some of the models included neo-human relations, which entailed an approach that ensured that management could be able to motivate employees through satisfying their basic needs and giving attractive remunerations that would result in change of behaviour and thus affectivity in the company. In addition, other models that were important in addressing the problem at Starbuck were human relations, contingency leadership model, system model, scientific leadership model, decision making model, and bureaucratic models. The models are important in shaping the management and employees behaviour towards effective performance of the organization. These models of organization behaviour did not come into play before the crisis and immediately after the crisis thus affecting the performance or the organization negatively. References Bloisi, W., Cook, C. W., & Hunsaker, P. L. 2007.  Management and organisational behaviour. London [u.a.: McGraw-Hill Education. Boin, A., & Hart, P. T. 2007. The crisis approach. In Handbook of disaster research (pp. 42-54). Springer New York. Borkowski, N. 2011.  Organizational behavior in health care. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Bratton, J. 2010.  Work and organizational behaviour. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Bussing-Burks, M. 2009.  Starbucks. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood Press. Dalton, M., Hoyle, D. G., & Watts, M. W. 2011.  Human relations. Australia: South-Western Cengage Learning. Gelf, Erez, M., & Aycan, Z. 2007. Cross-cultural organizational behavior. Annu. Rev. Psychol., 58, 479–514. Greenberg, J. 2013. Organizational behaviour. Routledge. Griffin, R., & Moorhead, G. 2013. Managing People and Organizations. UK: Cengage Learning Hellriegel, D., & Slocum, J. 2010. Organizational behaviour. Manson Cengage learning Klein, G. (2008). Naturalistic decision making. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 50(3), 456-460. Luthans, F., & Youssef, C. M. 2007. Emerging positive organizational behavior. Journal of management, 33(3), 321-349. Mark D. 2013. ‘Strikes and labour disputes – Legislation from the 1990s’, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Mawhinney, T. C. 2011. Job Satisfaction: I/O Psychology and Organizational Behavior Management Perspectives. Journal Of Organizational Behavior Management, 31(4), 288-315. Mbanote,. 2011. Management: Model of Organizational Behavior. Mbanote-management.blogspot.com. Retrieved 14 May 2014, from http://mbanote-management.blogspot.com/2011/03/model-of-organizational-behavior_23.html Moncarz, E., Zhao, J., & Kay, C. 2009. An exploratory study of US lodging properties’ organizational practices on employee turnover and retention. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 21(4), 437-458. Mullins, L.J. 2013. Management & Organisational Behaviour. Pearson Nelson, D. L., & Quick, J. C. 2012.  Organizational behavior: Science, the real world, and you. Mason, Ohio: South-Western. Netting, F. E., & O’Connor, M. K. 2013.  Organization practice: A guide to understanding human service organizations. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. Noble, K. 2014. The M5 Model Building. Positive Intelligence in Organizations. OD Practitioner, 46(1), 12-17. Phillips, J., & Gully, S. M. 2012.  Organizational behavior: Tools for success. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Punnett, B. J. 2009.  International perspectives on organizational behavior and human resource management. Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe. Reece, B. L. 2014.  Effective human relations: Interpersonal and organizational applications. Mason, OH: South-Western. Restaurant Brands,. 2014. About Us. Restaurantbrands.co.nz. Retrieved 15 May 2014, from http://www.restaurantbrands.co.nz/about-us/Singh, K. 2010.  Organizational behaviour: Text and cases. Chandigarh: Pearson. Starbucks coffee company, 2014 a. Starbucks Company timeline. Timeline Starbucks Coffee Company,. 2014 b. Company Information. Starbucks Coffee Company. Retrieved 14 May 2014, from http://www.starbucks.com/about-us/company-information Starbucks Coffee company,. 2014 c. FAQ Starbucks Coffee Company New Zealand. Starbucks.co.nz. 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How Trees Improve Environment

Trees are ancient living organisms that existed since the creation of the Earth and have been crucial to the Earth’s ecosystem. The age of a tree is determined by cambium, a layer of growing bark, which forms a ring in the wood of the tree. Each ring of cambium, tells the age of the tree. The climate can also determine how fast a tree grows. For instance, in cool climates, cambium only grows in the spring and summer. But there are some cases where you cannot determine the age of trees, like the trees in a tropical rain forest. The cambium grows all year round. Yet these trees do not have rings. Consequently without the cambium rings, it is difficult to tell the age of these species trees. Since trees have an s As told in the Holy Bible, â€Å"And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. † Just as is stated in the Bible, there are all kinds of trees, in all kinds of shapes and sizes. But how important are trees? If all the trees were removed from the Earth, what impact would this have on the environment? Determining the answers to these questions will be a guide in learning about the importance and value of trees in the ecosystem. Trees can have a positive effect on the climate, by shading the ground, trees cool off the Earth’s temperature. Strategically planting trees around air conditioners, windows and the walls which receive the most sun will help in reducing energy costs. Normally, the best position to plant trees is on the west, east and south. It really depends on a specific geographical location. However, according to American Forests’ research, even urban cities get the benefit of cooler temperatures from trees within distances of 35 miles. In fact, American Forests’ research determined that trees saved approximately $2. 8 million annually to Atlanta’s metro city as well as an annual savings for other metro areas across the United States. In addition, in 1991 a partnership between American Forests and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) along with other partners developed the Cool Communities program to promote trees as energy conservation tools. This program was a great success. It helped to educate the public on the ecological and economical importance of trees. But how do trees cleanse the air we breathe? Trees actually eat up the carbon dioxide that is emitted by cars, trucks and factories then releases oxygen (clean air) for us to breathe. Its almost like we feed them the carbon and they repay us with clean breathable air. The fact is one tree can absorb 48lbs of carbon annually and at the same time release enough oxygen to support two human beings. An acre of trees absorb 2. 6 tons annually which is enough carbon dioxide to cover the emissions from a car that is driven 26,000 miles. It is safe to say that we can all aid in having pure breathable air just by planting one tree. The U. S. Forest Service states that during a period of 40 years (1952 to 1992) an estimated 309 million tons of carbon was removed by trees. This is another reason why trees improve our environment.

Comparison of Pride and Prejudice with Sense and Sensibility

The poem â€Å"Pied Beauty† was written by Hopkins in 1877 and the â€Å"Ode to Autumn† was penned down by Keats in 1820. These poems appreciate all the aspects and diversity of Nature positively leading to the praise of God. In Pied Beauty, this praise of the Creator is vivid and apparent as the poet magnanimously asserts: â€Å"He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change: Praise him.† However, in Ode to Autumn the praise is subtly highlighted through the description of exuberant bounties of Autumn. The overarching theme of â€Å"beauty beyond appearance† is witnessed in both the poetic works mentioned above. In â€Å"Pied Beauty† this theme encapsulates the idea that perfection of things lies behind their appearance. The poet accentuates the fact that the spirit and energy beyond the appearance is to be appreciated. Thereby, a metaphysical streak echoes throughout, emphasizing the true essence of the word, â€Å"beauty†. Similarly, this theme is observed in â€Å"Ode to Autumn† connoting that the season Autumn has its own beauty like other seasons. Generally, Autumn is associated with old age or the end of life but Keats has creatively portrayed it as a season of â€Å"mellow fruitfulness†, thus, denoting the beauty of Autumn afar from its appearance. He has artistically projected an implied meaning to the poem by illustrating that autumn is the time of life where everything eventually leads to its completion or to have acquired the ultimate m otive of life. The crux of Ode to Autumn is to symbolize the uncertainties of life the Universe is so prone. However, in Pied Beauty, a synonymous thought is presented in the subtle descriptions of Nature that juxtapose the opposites to underline the notion that life is unpredictable , non-static and full of ambiguities. Hopkins asserts: â€Å"And all the trades,their gear &tackle &trim. Whatever is ficke, freckled,(who knows how?) With swift, slow; sweet, sour;adazzle,dim; He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change† Here, the poet stresses on the diverse nature of the life on Universe that everything is in a flux. The only thing constant is change and therefore, in Ode to Autumn we notice that autumn has arrived and we should appreciate the various shades of Nature it offers because they are momentary. Consequently, the beauty and speciality of everything present should be appreciated. It is because every atom and molecule on earth gifts us with some meaning and purpose in life. Another eminent theme is of â€Å"Nature†. In â€Å"Pied Beauty† numerous aspects of Nature are delineated using compound words. Hopkins appreciates that â€Å"Glory be to God for dappled things†, â€Å"skies of couple-colours† the â€Å"rose-moles† on the trout, the â€Å"Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings† and also the â€Å"Landscape plotted and pieced -fold,fallow &plough†. The poet is praisng God for everything that he has created and also for the sublime energies that Nature encapsulates beyond its physical appearance. Furthermore, this theme of Nature is also evident in â€Å"Ode to Autumn†. This ode is pregnant with admiration for different activities that take place in autumn. Keats enumerates that it is a â€Å"season of mists and mellow fruitfulness†, â€Å"load and bless with fruits the vines that round the thatch-eves run†, â€Å"fill all fruits with ripeness to the core†, â€Å"swel l the gourd and plump the hazel shells with sweet kernel†,†barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day†, â€Å"lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn† and the â€Å"Hedge-cricket sing†. All these descriptions stimulate our senses and lend a beautiful cinematographic element to the poem. Analogous to Hopkins, Keats also implies the stylistic device of compound words. However, the contrast lies in the fact that Keats uses compound words to make his poetry sensual whereas, Hopkins employs compound words to give different things a set shape and pattern. This is called instress and inscape technique that Hopkins uses. For example, he says â€Å"For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow†. Here he is characterizing the sky's colour and accentuating the inter relation and harmony of Nature. Like the brinded cow the sky is also spotted and patchy as the blue sky and white clouds are â€Å"coupled† together. The creative amalgamation of sky with creations on earth reflects the poet's love of nature to a commendable degree. On the contrary, Keats utilizes compound words to give a corporeal effect. For instance, he calls autum the â€Å"bosom-friend of the maturing Sun† and also he asserts â€Å"half-reap'd furrow†, â€Å"bloom the soft-dying dayà ¢â‚¬  and â€Å"full-grown lambs†. All these examples stir the senses. Animal and bird imagery have also been incorporated in these poems. Hopkins uses the image of the â€Å"brinded cow† to make the colour and pattern of the sky tangible, and also uses the image of a trout with rose-moles and the finches' wings to signify the variety and diversity of Nature. Nonetheless, Keats uses the images of the â€Å"swallow† singing, â€Å"lambs† bleating , â€Å"hedge-cricket† singing and the red-breast,†garden-crofet† whistling to indicate that autumn has a life and activity of its own which must be appreciated instead waiting for other seasons to come. Alliteration in the â€Å"Pied Beauty† is used to heighten the auditory effect of the poem. It is said about Hopkins that â€Å"his poetry should not be read with eyes but ears† (Bridges). The alliteartion used in the compound word â€Å"couple-clouds† empahsizes on making the sky tangible whereas â€Å"Fresh-firecoal† denotes a paradox to enhance the colour of the chestnut that is falling off the tree and â€Å"fold, fallow† these descriptions of the landscape suggest the multiplicity of lands created by God. On the other hand, in â€Å"Ode to Autumn† the alliterations â€Å"winnowing wind†, â€Å"dying day† and â€Å"lambs loud† all of these are stressing upon the activities that take place in autumn. Thus, signifying that autumn is also lively and is not about the end of life rather it announces a new happy beginning that follows. Nonetheless, apart from a few stylistic contrasts, both poets share a common natural ground of ideas, that is , the love and intense adulation of nature. The imagery that these poets employ is far-fetched and typical of the Romantic school of thought.

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Campus and the Life Changing Eye Opener - Essay Example This was through a campus  club  known as AIESEC. This experience changed my life profoundly and sparked a level of  awareness  that I  previously  did not have. A good number of the movies I had watched while growing up presented campus as  a place  to have mad fun. Caution  was thrown  to the wind as the students explored and experimented with their lives.  Whereas I am not claiming  conclusively  otherwise, I  feel  that there is a  side  of campus movies the movies totally ignore; the constructive side.  Oblivious of this view of campus, I had joined the  place  when  ready to  experience  the thrills I had seen in the movies.  Out of chance, I had joined this student’s  business  club, AIESEC. The  club  concerns itself with offering a  platform  to develop agents of positive change and leaders, with strong interests in business, entrepreneurship and project management. The  club  also offers its members oppo rtunities to  visit  business establishments to  witness  the best practices at work. It was during one of such activities in AIESEC that my life changing  experience  occurred. ... The level of  efficiency  arising from such  proper  organization  was clearly  discernible. Besides, the factory seemed to have an  unspoken  culture  as there was no one barking orders and reprimanding junior staff. The  second  thing I came across was the  commitment  to sustainability and environmental awareness. I do not claim to be the most environmentally  unaware  individual  at that time, but I had not seen such levels of active pursuit of sustainable practices and eco-friendliness, epitomized by  production  of the Prius and massive cuts on energy expenses. Massive research  had been done  into the most  efficient  technologies and building designs, while  ordinary  practices  were adopted  during  everyday  roles. While the capital costs would appear restrictive, the benefits in cost saving, motivation and customer  admiration  are  invaluable. The third and  last  impact  of the trip to TEMA was sparking my  global  awareness. The company is clearly a  global  leader; identifying  global  trends and how they affect Toyota; training staff to be  global  business leaders among other  global  perspectives. An experience is not life changing if one fails to act on it. I built upon the impact of the trip to TEMA first through undertaking research on the concepts learnt from the visit. Thus, I gained  an understanding  of the Toyota Way Culture and Lean management systems that brought about the efficiency, hard work and  motivation  I had observed (Toyota-Global). In fact, most other firms use a Toyota Way  variant  referred to as Six Sigma to optimize performance (Liker and Hoseus 37). I also gained much  interest  and understanding on sustainability and eco-friendliness, and how to build a

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See Below - Essay Example However, this appearance of unanimity quickly disappears if we ask, â€Å"What are the parameters of a free speech in a host of complex circumstances?† Therefore, practical implications for acceptance of these rights are highly uncertain. Utilitarian explores the pros and cons of an action before choosing the better action (Rachels 102). Commonsense might be misguided; therefore, commonsense cannot be trusted. Utilitarianism has contributed greatly in filling up deficiencies of commonsense. Most argue that utilitarianism may lead to conclusions that are contrary to commonsense morality (Rachels 103). Commonsense advocates may also argue that one should not sacrifice some humans for the happiness of others. If we put this into utilitarian perspective, then we may never realize the peace that we often enjoy. Hence, it is equally â€Å"commonsense† that soldiers should sacrifice their lives in a defensive war. In conclusion, it is a good thing that utilitarianism cannot be reconciled with common sense. Commonsense cannot be trusted and may be misguided. In many of our present circumstances, we are forced to weigh what action is of more benefit to a majority, such as sending soldiers to war torn zones (sacrificing) so that a majority may enjoy

Leadership in context 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Leadership in context 1 - Essay Example Many incidents occur in management because of the misconception which arises between leaders in the organization where by they should understand that management is doing things right while leadership is dong the right things. Leadership is very interesting because it does not only have a concern with the management task, but it also explores sociological nature of mankind. Critical Analysis According to Burnes (2009) critical analysis of communication approaches applied in organizational change affects the implementation of organizational in the modern society. This is because the approach involved in change evaluates results to less attention. Change in leadership has always been a characteristic in organizational life though many of the people urge that frequency and magnitude are greater than ever before. Today businesses face an increased challenge of funds in competition in the markets for their inputs. According to Lewis (2011) organization must take in to consideration the dri ving forces and restraining forces for change whereby the driving forces must exceed the restraining forces. Regardless of the challenges and dynamics, the business environment organization must adopt their ethical behaviors and practices in real life time and external conditions. Basing argument with Conant and Ashby philosophy in implementation theory outlines that the research agenda in organizational changes towards contingency includes observing an organizational change initiative by using a different process of models. Again it focuses on identifying and diagnosing how and when to respond to break down changes in an organization. Therefore, ones model to fit in an organization results to strategic questioning in the research agenda by comparing the advantages of organizational model fitness (Wagner 2012). According to Burnes (2004), change has always been a characteristic of organizational life, although many argue that frequency and magnitude of change is now greater than eve r before. The implication of this statement with respect to contemporary understanding of the change process is that, management makes the system of the people and technology flow in a systematic way in day to day life thus making the organization technology to run effectively and efficiently. Basically, according to today’s life, change in leadership is much more in relation to putting more effort in order to change the whole process of management in the organization thus making it move faster and more efficiently (Burnes 2009). Change leadership is more about the people, and their decision making plans according to vision and mission in their project activities. Change in leadership has potential of controlling things in an organization; for example, in today’s world, the talks are always on the side of change in management hence the world does not do much about change in leadership since it is associated with the ways on how to make things move in an orderly manner. It maybe hindered by some the challenges, but the fact is that there is nobody who is perfect in doing the right thing, so it is obviously a big deal in most of the organizations. The goal is often set to minimize the distractions and the impact of change which concerns’ with the driving forces and visions in the organization. Models of Planned Change The models have been highly

In What, After All, Does Happiness Consist for Aristotle Is He Right Essay

In What, After All, Does Happiness Consist for Aristotle Is He Right - Essay Example In other words, moral virtue, however it is attained, will bring happiness. He divides goods into three classes, A person who loves justice, or virtue will find pleasure in carrying out just or virtuous acts. Thus a virtuous person will find happiness in both himself and in acting upon his own goodness, and then be happy. Aristotle further explains that such happiness needs 'external goods' because a person must be equipped with certain other ingredients to perform noble acts. He cites friends, political power and wealth, which can be used to achieve this happiness, and includes certain aspects which might be described as living a 'charmed life' in modern terms. Having noble birth, beauty, good children and so on, all help to enable a person to live well, (think virtuous thoughts, do good acts) and so make a person happy. The inference then is that if someone is ugly, childless, poor or lonely, they have little chance of happiness. be in. However, he does believe that to study and become of good character is the preferred method, leading to noble acts, complete virtue and a complete life. Aristotle acknowledges that changes encountered throughout life might overturn the happiness but concludes that the virtuous activities of man are the most long lasting and permanent, for by thinking virtuously and acting so, he is truly good, and by inference, and in fact, happy. Such a person, described in Chapter 10, will be able to take what life throws at him, handle it because of his 'nobility and greatness of soul' (Bk. 1 Chp. 10, 350BC), always be happy, even in the afterlife. In Chapter 11 he says 'the blessed dead will not be affected by good or bad fortunes of those left behind, their happy state is preserved' (Bk. 1 Chp 11, 350BC). (He considered that what happens to the living impinges on the dead). The hypothesis here would seem to be that thinking good thoughts, doing noble and virtuous acts, staying happy, secure in the knowledge that one is thinking well and living well, makes for happiness, in this life and the next. The soul, being the rational aspect of a human being, will ensure obedience and the production of such virtue will result. His non-evolutionary concept of the universe, (nature is as it is) and how man exists within it, made his ethics fit well with the teachings of the Catholic Church and later, with Christianity as a whole. Serious challenges only arose with the Enlightenment of the 18th Century and the ideas preceding it during the 17th. From Galileo to Darwin, and many others, overturned his views, suffering at the hands of religious leaders in the process. Now, in the 21st Century, surrounded by the knowledge of man's physical, psychological and scientific

Resource Based View of the Firm to Strategic Management in a Global Essay

Resource Based View of the Firm to Strategic Management in a Global Environment - Essay Example Organization refers to systems and procedures that lie outside hard assets yet add value to profitability. Globalization requires that we expand the definition of resource to include intangible assets that are not easy to measure in terms of dollars. According to Wheelen and Hungary, globalization is increasingly dependent on regional trade organizations such as NAFTA. The ability of a firm to lobby for successful legislation and work with regional trade partners is imperative for success. Regional trade groups in Asia, Europe, and North America are a step towards international standards and a firm's ability to position itself within this framework, though of great importance to profitability, is difficult to measure in terms of asset allocation. A firm's existing culture and its ability to adapt is another aspect of a firm that can be measured as a strength or weakness in globalization. A firm's ability to understand and implement business across borders is dependent on the staff's orientation towards the host country's laws, traditions, and accepted business practices. Other intangibles such as brand recognition, respect for intellectual property, and social capital can all contribute to a firm's ability to compete (Rycroft,2002) . ... nformation necessary to plan and move in a timely and profitable fashion (Yeniyurt et al, 2005) Competitor intelligence, as well as customer knowledge, can be used to measure standards or indicate the need to innovate or change strategies. Information of the global setting has the ability to turn this intangible asset into profitability. Moving into the global arena demands that we alter our traditional measures of resources and implement a strategy to quantify what has until recently been considered intangible assets. Resource allocation and the core competencies of a product or service should not be abandoned. Resources such as uniqueness, rareness, desirability, and distribution channels are as important to profitability as ever. However, the need to measure other resources that include culture, diversity, ability to network globally, and the flexibility to adapt to changing global needs are the ingredients necessary to adequately form a firm's global strategy as it relates to the resource based view. The ability to measure these seemingly elusive characteristics of a firm is imperative as we move forward from multi-national to globalization. Works Cited Fahy, J., Alan Smithee. (1999). Strategic Marketing and the Resource Based View of the Firm. Academy of marketing science review, -. Retrieved 12 Jan. 2006, from http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/amsrev/theory/fahy10-99.html#return Rycroft, R. (2002). Technology-Based Globalization Indicators: The Centrality of Innovation Network Data. Occasional paper series. Retrieved 12 Jan. 2006, from http://www.gwu.edu/cistp/PAGES/Tech-BasedGlobIndic_RWR_10.7.02.pdf Wheelen, T. L., & Hunger D. J. (2006). Strategic Management and Business Policy. (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education

Culture Influence of the Food Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Culture Influence of the Food - Assignment Example The ingredients used are leftovers of a sheep after it has been slaughtered and meat extracted. Some people would have to be drunk or drugged in order to take haggis while it remains a cultural delicacy in Scotland. Different religious groups are known to use food as an expression of their faith. Fasting is believed to improve spiritual disciple among the Christians. Muslims are also known for not eating pigs. They consider pigs to be cursed and unholy. Hindus do not eat beef. They believe that the cow is holy(Kao and Elizabeth 87). The young generation has taken fasting to whole new level. Girls are known to fast so as to maintain their perfect physique. This is part of the food culture in today’s world and cannot be ignored. Chinese are known to use chopsticks to eat their food. In some countries around the world, the main meal is taken during the day. That is at noon. However, in America the main meal of the day is taken in the evening shortly before 7 P.M. The evening meal is referred to as dinner. In Spain, the evening meal (supper) is taken around 10 P.M. Some cultures prefer their food to be spicy. E.g. the Chinese. Some will enjoy their food more if it is either bitter, sour or sweet. Some cultures will also like their food to be boiled or fried. While some cultures like eat raw food. Some cultures like the French like eating in groups and holding festivals while some cultures leg Denmark people are allowed to eat alone and eating is not considered a social activity. However, in Denmark people emphasize eating healthy while in France people are more concerned with taste (Kao and Elizabeth 56). There are also some other factors that determine food culture. For instance, sportsmen and women have been known not to eat heavily.

Assignment 3-2 P Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

3-2 P - Assignment Example I decided to go to Qatar, which is my hometown, during the summer to spend my whole vacation there and to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan as well. The problem is, my wife thinks that it is a waste to spend thousands of dollars for tickets just to go there. However, for me, it is worth every penny that I will spend to go to Qatar. My plan was to go to Qatar in the summer. This will be the first time that I will spend Ramadan with my family after my marriage. I thought that it would be an excellent chance for my kids to know more about Ramadan, how it is celebrated, and what people in Qatar do during Ramadan. Another thing that I thought of was our grandparents. I really wanted to spend it with my family especially since it wasn’t a sure fact that our grandparents will be around to celebrate the next Ramadan. My wife is right in saying that spending much money to buy tickets to go to Qatar and celebrate Ramadan with my family is not necessary. She says that every dollar we spend on the tickets is a dollar less on what we have saved for our kids’ education and our future house. She is right in pointing out that spending all that money will definitely alter our plans of enrolling our sons in a private school. My wife is correct, when she said that there are different ways of teaching our kids about Ramadan, such as bringing them to the Masjeds we have in Columbus and by teaching them concepts about Ramadan at home. Both of us are right. I am right in saying that I want to celebrate this special month of the year with my family and relatives in my hometown, Qatar. I am right because I want to teach and show my kids how people celebrate and act on this holy month of the year and to show them how people wait and prepare for it every year. However, my wife is also right in stating that we don’t need to spend extravagantly on tickets just to celebrate Ramadan with our

Australia Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Australia - Movie Review Example It also shows the conflict between the aboriginals and the Europeans. So the movie has been acted in the right country so as to portray the Australians character. In the movie Australia, the cultural landscape portrays very old houses, which have been traditionally built. Most of the houses been build using mud, and this makes the movie look like a traditional movie which was shot long time ago. There is the existence of ranches, which keep large head of cattle implying that the movie must have been shot to represent how the Australians lived a long time ago. The movie takes place in the Australia this is because of the physical appearance of the landscape. Australia is a country, which is known to having a very rugged landscape which is very mountainous. The tribunal Aborigine is a traditional culture which is used in the movie and was highly associated with the country of Australia. This serves as evidence that the movie was shot in the country of Australia. The movie also shows Nullah as an aboriginal child of a mixed race. Other products such as Scarlett and Rhett were also other products which were associated with the same country. The movie wants to show how the Australians lived long before. It also shows the lifestyle that they were living in which includes inheriting of property because the cows Maitland has were gained through inheritance. The beginning of the second world is also reflected in the movie. The culture is unfolded using artifacts, sociafacts and mentifacts. Some of the artifacts used are traditionally built houses, station sheds, white painted rocks tennis court and white painted rocks. This shows that the people of Australia relied mostly on traditionally built houses. There is a safe place set for the mission children, traditional dances; there is a school and highly ranked leaders this acts as a sociofacts in the movie. It shows that there were most protected missions

What an education means to me Essay Example for Free

What an education means to me Essay â€Å"Education is a progressive discovery of our ignorance† says Will Durant (1885-1981) Education liberated me from ignorance and placed me in a high pedestal to wine and dines with the intellectuals and not mere men. Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been, without being educated. Like they say education is expensive, then why don’t you try ignorance? A life without education is a passive one. In everything I believe â€Å"basics are the mother of all knowledge† hence, societal development is highly dependent on the literacy level of its citizen. Education to me can either be an informal education or formal education. Informal education is a type of education which is outside the school premises while those of formal are within the school settings. Informal education given to me by my parents helped me a lot and equipped me with basic skills in human relationship and communication skills on which I was able to build upon. This gave me a starter dose. As a child, the elementary school introduces me to the basic skills, information and attitude necessary to thrive in my society. I was also introduce to the principles of reading, writing and spelling and even to some basic arithmetic. I was also introduced to some forms of fine arts, elementary science and some forms of handicraft. Education taught me the creative use of my mind and how to make it work for me in all aspect of my life. It gave me the capacity and ability to evaluate information and to predict future outcomes. I can also effectively recognize and evaluate different points of view even when arguing with my colleagues or friend and not creating a kind of enmity. Education also trained me to seek out alternative solutions and evaluate them when there is need for such, this I called problem solving skills. Education gave me a better understanding of my culture and environment and also helped me to learn history of my country, and an insight into that of others. With all the knowledge and wisdom from such learning I was able to integrate that with some aspect of my life. Acquisition of information about the past and present: including traditional disciplines such as literature, history, science, mathematics was as a result of education and this influence the development of every community. Without education knowledge and history can not be passed from one generation to the other. Education also influences my religion and this has guided my beliefs and actions. The influence of education on self esteem can not be underestimated. Taking my life as a case study, I used to be someone with a low self esteem until I got to realize what self esteem is all about and its effect my actions, life in totality. The sense of well-being, i. e. my mental and physical health has greatly improved. I’m now able to acquire some values and attitude that is highly essential in the competitive and dynamic worlds of ours. The role of education in personal values is very important, because this gave me an opportunity of self-realization and self reflection which is germane to the awareness of my innate abilities and goals. Educations taught me â€Å"morals† which simply means acting in a right manner and knowing how to deal with people. Knowledge of moral practices and ethical standards acceptable by society and culture can only be achieved via education. Everything my religion taught me about morals was as a result of my ability to read, think and takes actions, which are all by-products of education. It’s often said that where there’s no law there’s no sin, hence people can only behave well when they are taught the benefits of acting right towards their fellow citizen. This simply gives capacity and ability to be a good citizen. Education is a prerequisite for an intellectual pursuit. From mine point of view is education simply makes people respect you and recognize you and your achievements. I believe there can be a professor without education and there can’t be a civilized society without education. Culture which is a way of life can only be acquired through education and exposure to the arts. Formation of healthy social and or formal relationships among and between students, teacher, others are some of the importance of education to my life. Culture is also maintain and kept from one age to the other as a result of education. My utmost view of education is that I will be able to earn a living, make the right choice, strengthening my character, becomes strong, develop my body soul and spirit and live a fulfill life. With my career I will be of use to my immediate environment. Above all education makes a better leader. I will conclude this piece by quoting the words of B. F skinner and Jack Stack which says â€Å"Education is what survives when what has been learnt has been forgotten†. – B. F. Skinner â€Å"When you appeal to the highest level of thinking, you get the highest level of performance†. -Jack Spack Reference Teachers mind resource. (2008). The meaning of education. Teacher’s mind resource. Retrieved July 9, 2008. From www. teachersmind . com

Nervous Systems And Sensory Organs

Nervous Systems And Sensory Organs You take a needle and prick your finger, your response is probably to get your finger away from the needlepoint quickly and maybe yell ouch. You take the same needle and poke a protist, sponge, cnidarian, or worm with it and they will all probably exhibit a similar response, at least they will all retreat. But how can this be possible? Protists are unicellular organisms that dont have a system to communicate after coming in contact with a stimulus. Similarly, sponges just sit on a rock all day, they also dont have any nervous functions. Cnidarians on the other hand have a nerve net, but how do they coordinate responses without a brain? All of these questions, along with how body plans relate to nervous system evolution, will be answered as this paper explores the evolution of the nervous system and sense organs from protists to the vertebrates. The Protists The classification of protozoans has been changed a lot through time. Cavalier-Smith (1993) came up with what he called the simplest definition of the kingdom Protozoa. They are eukaryotes, other than those that primitively lack mitochondria and peroxisomes, which lack the shared derived characters that define the higher derived kingdoms of Animalia, Fungi, and Plantae (Cavalier-Smith, 1993). Even though protozoans are simple unicellular organisms, they can still respond to many of the same stimuli higher order organisms respond too. Take for example that science class most students have. You put paramecium under a microscope and try to touch them with a probe, or watch their response to the light from the microscope. Most of the time when the anterior membrane of Paramecium is mechanically stimulated the ciliary power stroke reorients so the cell swims backwards, or retreats (Ogura Machemer, 1980). If the posterior membrane is stimulated the cilia beat towards the rear, causing the organism to move forward (Ogura Machemer, 1980). The light from the microscope can affect both the photoreceptors and thermoreceptors of the protists. The unicellular alga Euglena shows two regions of peak sensitivity to light during photokinesis at 465 nm and then again near 630 nm and during phototaxis 490-500 nm (Leys et al., 2002). Euglena is phototactic and its system consists of locomotory flagellum, an eyespot, and a photoreceptor (Gualtieri, 2001). As the organism moves, the eyespot senses the amount of light that reaches it and therefore pushes the Euglena in the direction of more light (Gualtieri, 2001). But moving towards light also means a change in temperature, especially if the light source is close to the organism. Paramecium cells are themo-sensitive and tend to accumulate at temperatures they were cultured at (Toyoda et al., 2009). They become used to their membrane fluidity at this temperature, and small temperatures changes drastically change this fluidity (Toyoda et al., 2001). If the temperatures change too much the Paramecium will retreat away from the heat in order to survive (Hennessey, Saimi, Kung, 1983). Protists also have chemosensory responses to certain odorants and tastes. Rodgers, Markle, and Hennessey (2008) found G-protein coupled receptors in the Paramecium. They tested whether Paramecium and Tetrahymena could respond to the common higher order organisms odorants and tastants (Rodgers, Markle, Hennessey, 2008). If they are affected by the odorants or tastants they will do an avoiding reaction, which can be seen when the organism is leaving an attractant or enters a repellent (Valentine, Yano, Van Houten, 2008). The Tetrahymena was more sensitive and could detect all of the tastants sampled, while Paramecium only detected four or the ten (Rodgers, Markle, Hennessey, 2008). Since Paramecium feed on bacteria Valentine, Yano, and Van Houten (2008) showed that they are attracted to bacterial metabolites such as, folate, acetate, glutamate, cyclic AMP, Biotin, and Ammonium. So an organism without a nervous system or sense organs has the ability to respond to many of the same env ironmental factors that higher order organisms respond too. Poriferia Similar to the protozoans, sponges lack definite body symmetry and also lack nerves and cell junctions, allowing no communication between cells (Leys et al., 2002). Sponges do respond to both light and mechanical stimuli. Recently, some sponges have been found to respond to light by contracting their cilia (Leys et al., 2002). Most larvae, via their cilia, are sensitive to light near 440 nm and again at 600 nm causing them to respond by straightening and bending (Leys et al., 2002). Although sponges lack neurons they are sedimentary feeders and therefore need ways of dealing with excessive particulates in their feeding currents (Tompkins-MacDonald Leys, 2008). Cellular sponges have the ability to close the openings to their incurrent canals, constrict the size of their intake canals, and even carry out a series of slow contractions that expel unwanted material (Tompkins-MacDonald Leys, 2008). The syncytial tissues of glass sponges allow action potentials initiated at single or mult iple sites to propagate through the entire animal, stopping the feeding current (Tompkins-MacDonald Leys, 2008). When Tompkins-MacDonald and Leys (2008) tested this response they found that by probing the interal body wall, allowing light to touch the outer body wall, or by knocking on the outer body wall pumping was stopped. This shows that a sponge, although not having an nerves or cell junctions can still respond to its environment. Cnidaria and Ctenophora Cnidaria and Ctenophora are the most basally branching lineages with specialized sense organs. The Cnidaria are radially symmetrical and have a nerve net where the sensor and ganglionic neurons and their processes are interspersed among the epithelial cells of both layers (Watanabe, Fujisawa, Holstein, 2009). Sensory structures that form part of epidermis are found in all animal phyla. Cnidarian neurons do not cluster to form a central nervous system or ganglia, which is why the nerve net is considered the simplest nervous system (Sarnat Netsky, 2002). In cnidarians sensory structures consist of naked sensory neurons whose dendrite is formed by a modified cilium (Jacobs et al., 2007). Sensilla are individual sensory neurons, or small groupings of sensory neurons, that typically function in one of the following; light detection, mechanoreception, and chemoreception (Jacobs et al., 2007). Photoreception and chemoreception involve G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and membrane ion c hannels, similar to what was observed in the protists (Jacobs et al., 2007). Jacobs et al. (2007) believes that sense organs and kidneys in bilterians may have evolved from groupings of choanocytes in sponges. Cnidarian sense organs are usually associated with the free swimming form that resembles a jellyfish (Jacobs et al., 2007). Neural regionalization is most evident in the medusozoans that have rhopalia , an eye system with lenses (Watanabe, Fujisawa, Holstein, 2009). Other cnidarians contain simple eyes. A statocyst is a dense array of mechanosensory cells that serve as a touch plate (Jacob et al., 2007). In most cnidarians the rhopalia, sense organ, alternate with tentacles, appendages, similar to how vertebrates have organs associated with appendages (Jacobs et al., 2007). Photoreceptors responsible for contractions in Hydra in response to blue light at 470 nm, are consistent in spectral location and shape with a rhodopsin-based photoreceptive system (Leys et al., 2002). One of the newest findings deal with coral larvae and their exterior cilia being able to detect and respond to underwater sound fields (Vermeij et al., 2010). Vermeij et al. (2010) setup six chambers directed towards underwater speakers playing day and night reef sounds. Free-swimming coral larvae moved predominately towards the speakers independent of chamber orientation (Vermeij et al., 2010). This study was done because fish larvae used it as well. Platyhelminthes The flatworms have true bilateral symmetry (Reuter Gustafsson, 1995). Some flatworms have a nerve net like Cnidarians. Others have a central nervous system that consists of anterior ganglia, the brain, and one or several pairs of longitudinal nerve cords that are connected in a ladder-like configuration (Reuter Gustafsson, 1995). The peripheral nervous system is just a meshwork of nerves that are interconnected to the central nervous system (Reuter Gustafsson, 1995). Platyhelminthes has eyes, a light sensing organ, on the dorsal side of the body composed of two cell types: pigment cells and photoreceptor cells (Inoue et al., 2004). The pigment cells form an eye-cup while the visual neurons are located outside the eye-cup (Inoue et al., 2004). The eyes do not allow Planarians to see distinct images, but allows them to be repulsed by bright light, a condition known as negative phototrophism (Hyde, 2003). Not only does the head bear a pair of eyes, but a also a pair of ear-like lobes called auricles. Auricles have nothing to do with hearing; instead they are involved in mechanoreception, chemoreception, and pressure reception (Hyde, 2003). Nematodes Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) has been established as a genetic and genomic model organism (Zhang, 2008). C. elegans does not have a visual or auditory system so it depends on chemosensation to detect bacteria to feed on (Zhang, 2008). C. elegans has exactly 302 neurons, 32 of which are chemosensory because they have ciliated endings that are directly exposed to their external environment (Troemel et al., 1995). Free-living nematodes use amphids and phasmids as sensory structures to seek food and avoid harmful situations, while parasitic nematodes use amphids to actively or passively see a host (Srinivasan, Durak, Sternberg, 2008). Amphids are either enclosed in the amphid sheath or exposed to the environment (Zhang, 2008). Ascaris lumbricoides (A. lumbricoides), a larger nematode, contains 298 neurons (Srinivasan, Durak, Sternberg, 2008). Each group of neurons reacts to certain stimuli. For example, some respond to salt (ASE chemosensory neurons), others respond to volatile al dehydes, ketones, and alcohols (AWC olfactory neurons), and yet others respond to chemical, mechanical, and osmotic stimuli (ASH neurons) (Srinivasan, Durak, Sternberg, 2008; Troemel et al., 1995). Mollusks, Annelids, and Arthropods There are three different nervous systems seen in mollusks alone. Bivalves tend to have no cephalization, while slowing moving mollusks have some cephalization, primary to connect senses and motor information while moving through the environment (Gregory, 2006). The cephalopods require complex sense organs and so they are highly cephalized Gregory, 2006). The cephalopods are known for their well-developed eye, that functions almost exactly like the human eye, which is why they such good eye sight (Oceanic Research Group, 2007). Annelids and Arthropods have repeating segments and an anterior brain. Each segment contains its own ganglion, which controls the muscles of that segment (Gregory, 2006). The nerve cord of both phylum runs directly through all of the segments (Gregory, 2006). These two were grouped together because they are very similar in function for being two different phyla. Vertebrates Amphioxous, part of the phylum chordata, are only capable of a few reflexive responses. They do not have the ability to recognize tactile stimuli, so all stimuli are interpreted as a threat and the organism curls away in defense (Sarnat Netsky, 2002). This reaction demonstrates how neurons that feel the stimuli on one side of the body are transmitted and affect motor neurons on the other side of the body (Sarnat Netsky, 2002). The neuron that served this function was known as the decussating interneuron (Sarnat Netsky, 2002). This is the underlying groundwork of the vertebrate nervous systems. Vertebrates have bilateral symmetry, complex sense organs and complex behaviors, requiring a very cephalized, complex nervous system. Vertebrates consist of two nervous systems, the Central and Peripheral. The central nervous system (CNS) contains the brain and spinal cord, while the peripheral nervous system (PNS) is composed of the nerves running through the body. The CNS has been conservative in its evolution, especially when looking at the senses of the vertebrates (Hodos Butler, 1997). The receptor types are either monopolar or pseudomonopolar neurons, each consist of parallel pathways connecting the receptors to the primary central neurons, which are located inside the sense organs where the stimuli is processed (Hodos Butler, 1997). Nerves are bundles of neurons, without cells bodies (Gregory, 2006). Most nerves contain both sensory and motor abilities (Gregory, 2006). There are both cranial and spinal nerves. There are multiple cranial nerves in all vertebrates, with humans having 12, and they are responsible for both sensory and motor information (Brown, 2003). The nerves are numbered using roman numerals from 1 to 12 (Brown, 2003). Brown (2003) described all of the following cranial nerves. Cranial nerve I is the olfactory nerve and it carries the sense of smell to the olfactory bulb of the brain. Cranial nerve II is the optic nerve and it carries visual information to the brain. Cranial nerve III is the oculomotor nerve and it provides motor ability to the four-extrinisic eye muscles, muscles of the upper eyelid, and intrinsic eye muscles. Cranial nerve IV is the trochlear nerve and it gives motor ability to the superior oblique eye muscle. Cranial nerve V is the trigeminal nerve and it provides sensory info rmation from the face, forehead, nasal cavity, tongue, gums and teeth. Cranial nerve VI is the abducens nerve gives motor ability to the lateral rectus muscle of the extrinisic eye. VII is the Facial nerve that provides humans with facial expressions. VIII is the vestibulocochlear nerve and it innervates the hair cell receptors of the inner ear. IX or the glossopharyngeal nerve moves the pharynx, soft palate, and posterior region of the tongue. X is the vagus nerve, it is the longest nerve, and provides sense transports from the ear to the taste buds to the throat. Cranial nerve XI is the spinal accessory nerve and it is involved in swallowing and powering muscle movement for the upper shoulders, head, and neck. Lastly, XII is the hypoglossal nerve and it moves the muscles of the tongue (Brown, 2003). As you can see the ability for control of all of these senses and movements makes for a very complex nervous, something that was never seen in earlier organisms. The spinal nerves are connected directly to the spinal cord by two roots, the dorsal (strictly sensory) and ventral (strictly motor) (Gregory, 2006). All of the above are seen in the PNS, which is then subdivided into the Somatic and Autonomic Nervous System. The Somatic Nervous System is the voluntary system, including all of the nerves that serve the skeletal muscles and exterior sense organs (Gregory, 2006). Reflexes are also seen in this nervous system. Just like in the lower organisms, vertebrates respond to stimuli. Except vertebrates have a much more complex stimulus-reflex system. Remember how a Paramecium came in contact with a stimulus and retreated until adaptation occurred? Vertebrates have the ability to think about coming in contact with a stimulus, they dont have to come in contact with everything they see because they have the somatic nervous system (Gregory, 2006). The other subdivision is the autonomic nervous system that is responsible for actions without conscious control; examples are heart beating and smooth muscle actions (Gregory, 2006). Everything in the PNS needs a place to send its information too and that is why there is the central nervous system. In the more primitive animals the brain, or ganglia, was there to simply send out reflexes to external stimuli (Gregory, 2006). The vertebrates have evolved a very complex brain because they have the ability to respond to reflexes, hold memory, learn, and think (Gregory, 2006). The brain has three divisions, the hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain. The important portion when talking about senses is the midbrain because it receives sensory information and sends it to the forebrain to be processed (Gregory, 2006). In fishes and amphibians it is geared towards reflexes associated with visual input (Gregory, 2006). The cerebrum in reptiles, birds, and mammals receives sensory information and coordinates motor responses (Gregory, 2006). There are four lobes the frontal (motor functions), parietal (sensory receptors from skin), occipital (vision), and temporal (hearing and sm elling) (Gregory, 2006). Similar to decussating interneuron in Amphixous, vertebrates have the corpus callosum that contains neurons that cross from one side of the brain to the other, allowing communication between both sides (Gregory, 2006). Conclusion Bioluminescence is when luciferase catalyzes the oxidation of luciferin to excited oxyluciferin that then relaxes to produce a visible photon (Akilesh, 2000). The most common colors for bioluminescence are blue and green, although red and violet can be seen as well (Akilesh, 2000). Bioluminescence was developed in order to protect the organism. For example dinoflagellates flash their light during night or dark cycles to distract predators and reveal their predator to higher predators (Akilesh, 2000). Another example is the cookie-cutter shark, whose belly lights up, and is covered during the day by another organ. When the shark swims up in the waters its neck does not have the bioluminescence and so it appears to be a small fish and when bigger predators get close it attacks (Akilesh, 2000). Bioluminescence is seen more in aquatic organisms, probably because it is more beneficial to them in the mercy waters. This paper talked about the different phylum from protists all the way to vertebrates. Protists being unicellular and having no nervous system still had the ability to respond to many different kinds of environmental stimuli. Sponges have no symmetry and they are also able to respond to environmental stimuli, although usually larvae respond to more. Cnidarians have radial symmetry and therefore a corresponding nerve net, which helps them respond to environmental stimuli. Platelyhelminthes are the first to have bilateral symmetry and to go along with that their nervous system extends the length of its body, with centralization in the head, or anterior end. They also have to ganglia at the end of each nerve cord and the nerve cords are connected to allow both sides of the body to move together. The mollusks have a wide range of diversity in their nervous systems, ranging from nerve nets to highly cephalized cephalopods. The segmentation of annelids and arthropods allows each segment to be controlled individually but the nerve cord still runs through each segment. The vertebrates have the most evolved nervous system. This is because they have the ability to respond to stimuli, hold memory, learn, and think. This means that we dont have to come in contact with everything in the environment to understand it. The more complex a body plan becomes the more complex the corresponding nervous system becomes as well. A simple body plan doesnt have the room to house a huge brain, and therefore simple or no nervous systems are seen. Literature Cited Akilesh, S. (2000). Bioluminescence: Natures Bright Idea. Retrieved from: dujs.dartmouth.edu/2000S/06-Biolumen.pdf Brown, W. (2003). Cranial Nerves. Retrieved from http://www.pitt.edu/~anat/Neuro/CranialNerves/CN.htm Cavalier-Smith, T. (1993). Kingdom Protozoa and Its 18 Phyla. Microbiological Reviews, 57(4), 953-994 Gregory, M. (2006) The Nervous System: Organization, Overview of Nervous System in the Animal Kingdom [PDF document] Retrieved from Lecture Notes Online Web site: http://faculty.clintoncc.suny.edu/faculty/michael.gregory/files/bio%20102/bio%20102%20lectures/nervous%20system/nervous1.htm Gualtieri, P. (2001). Morphology of photoreceptor systems in microalgae. Micron, 411-426 Hennessey, T.M., Saimi, Y., and Kung, C. (1983). A heat-induced depolarization of Paramecium and its relationship to thermal avoidance behavior. J. Comp. Physiol., 153, 39-46 Hodos, W. and Butler, A.B. (1997). Evolution of Sensory Pathways in Vertebrates. Brain Behav Evol, 50, 189-197 Hyde, K. (2003). Chapter 6: The Flatworms. An Inside View of Animals: Zoology, 3rd ed., 121. Inoue, T., Kumanoto, H., Okamoto, K., Umesono, Y., Sakai, M., Alvarado, A.S., and Agata, K. (2004). Morphological and Functional Recovery of the Planarian Photosensing System during Head Regeneration. Zoological Science, 21, 275-283. Jacobs, D.K., Nakanishi, N., Yuan, D., Camara, A., Nichols, S.A., and Hartenstein, V. (2007). Evolution of sensory structures in basal metazoa. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 47(5), 712-723 Leys, S.P, Cronin, T.W., Degnan, B.M., and Marshall, J.N. (2002). Spectral sensitivity in a sponge larva. J Comp Physiol A, 188, 199-202 Oceanic Reasearch Group. (2007). The Wonders of the sea: The snail and its relatives. Retrieved from http://www.oceanicresearch.org/education/wonders/mollusk.html Ogura, A., and Machemer, H. (1980). Distribution of Mechanoreceptor Channels in the Paramecium surface membrane. J. Comp. Physiol., 135, 233-242 Reuter, M., and Gustafsson, M.K.S. (1995). The flatworm nervous system: Pattern and phylogeny. The Nervous System of Invertebrates: An evolutionary and comparative approach. Pg.25-59. Rodgers, L.F., Markle, K.L, and Hennessey, T.M. (2008). Responses of the Ciliates Tetrahymena and Paramecium to Vertebrate Odorants and Tastants. J. Eukaryot. Mircobiol., 55(1), 27-33. Sarnat, H.B., and Netsky, M.G. (2002). When Does a Ganglion Become a Brain? Evolutionary Origin of the Central Nervous System. Seminars in Pediatric Neurology, 9(4), 240-253 Srinivasan, J., Durak, O., and Strenberg, P.W. (2008). Evolution of a polymodal sensory response network. BMC Biology, 6(52), 1-15 Thompkins-MacDonald, G.J., and Leys, S.P. (2008). Glass sponges arrest pumping in response to sediment: implications for the physiology of the hexactinellid conduction system. Mar Biol,154,973-984 Toyoda, T., Hiramatsu, Y., Sasaki, T., Nakaoka, Y. (2009). Thermo-sensitive response based on the membrane fluidity adaptation in Paramecium multimicronucleatum. The Journal of Experimental Biology, 212, 2767-2772 Troemel, E.R., Chou, J.H., Dwyer, N.D., Colbert, H.A., and Bargmann, C.I. (1995). Divergent Seven transmembrane receptors are candidate chemosensory receptors in C. elegans. Cell, 83, 207-218 Valentine, M., Yano, J., and Van Houten, J.L. (2008). Chemosensory Transduction in Paramecium. Jpn. J. Protozool., 41(1) Vermeij, M.J.A., Marhaver, K.L., Huijbers, C.M., Nagelkerken, I., Simpson, S.D. (2010). Coral Larvae move towards reef sounds. PLoS One, 5(5) Watanabe, H., Fujisawa, T., and Holstein, T.W. (2009). Cnidarians and the evolutionary origin of the nervous system. Develop. Growth Differ., 51, 167-183 Zhang, Y. (2008). Neuronal mechanisms of Caenorhabditis elegans and pathogenic bacteria interactions. Current Opinion in Microbiology, 11, 257-261

Body Mutilation and Adornment :: essays research papers

Body Mutilation and Adornment There are various aspects through which people, especially youth, identify themselves. People are always sending some sort of communication out at all times, whether it is subconscious or not. Images and styles are adopted which communicate meanings about the individual to his/her peers and to society. Styles of dress, language, music, and dance are some of the ways that portray one's own unique symbols, values, and meanings. One other such signifier of identity is through body modification, particularly tattooing and body piercing. In today's society people have adopted the new style or trend of body modification. There are many reasons in which people obtain piercings and tattoos. Those who modify, manipulate and mutilate their bodies do so for many reasons. Some say it's simply exciting and pleasurable, or part of the latest fad. Others place it in the context of art, ritual or self-expression-they say it's an act with cultural and social significance. In contrast, many people can 't understand why someone would choose to put so many holes in her body or cut their skin. They see body modification as self-destructive, much like anorexia or bulimia. I am a prime example of youth urge toward body modification. Below I will talk about why, what, where, and how people modify their body and how people look upon them. Youth and adolescence is one of, if not the most, significant and influential moments in one's life, when youth are seeking their identity of who they are. Tattooing and piercing are one of the many ways through which youth may express their identity, for they are symbolic representations of how the self is conceived or understood. People may also want themselves to be portrayed as someone who they are not. For example, someone gets a tattoo or earrings just to look "tough" or "cool". I remember when I was young; I thought having an earring was the coolest thing and at the age of sixteen I couldn't take it anymore and pierced my ear against my parents will. Getting a piercing or tattoo symbolizes a certain change in ones life. These changes, no matter how miniscule they may seem, have a huge impact on a person's identity. Usually when a youth gets a tattoo or earring, they are symbolizing their maturity by finally being able to make a decision on their own and taking matters into the ir own hands.

Puritan Doctrine In 17th C. Li :: essays research papers

In seventeenth century America, the world was a frightening place. God could, and would, strike a man down at any time for any missteps he might take. Nature was filled with horrors, like Indians, and the Devil resided in the forest, waiting to steal peoples’ souls. In the eighteenth century, however, the Enlightenment began. Man discovered that he could learn by following others’ example, or by observing nature, rather than looking solely to the Bible for answers. People began to become concerned with their life here on the earth, rather than concerning themselves solely with the expectations of the afterlife. God stopped being thought of as a puppeteer, pulling the strings and controlling every movement, but as a clockmaker who had wound the world up and had then stepped back to watch. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine were two important figures in the Enlightenment. Although their philosophies differed on some matters, they both believed that the world was there to observe, not merely to act as a waiting room for the afterlife. This was a dramatic change from the seventeenth century viewpoint. Franklin and Paine’s viewpoints differed sharply from those that were held to be true in the seventeenth century, and nowhere were these differences as apparent as they were in the areas of knowledge, nature, and religion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In regards to knowledge, the seventeenth century view was that knowledge was to gained through studying the Bible, and that the only purpose of gaining further knowledge would be to preserve the integrity of one’s own soul, or to help others in saving theirs. The Puritans’ interests in gaining or preserving knowledge were solely religious, and they also believed that any knowledge that man was to have could be found within the Bible. In The Autobiography (Part Two), Franklin writes that his main reason for setting up a subscription library was to give himself access to more books, and that the knowledge he gained would serve as his own personal â€Å"Means of Improvement† (575). According to the Puritans, if a person had a question, he or she needed only to search the scriptures for an answer. For example, when Anne Bradstreet was searching for an answer as to why her house, and all of her possessions contained therein, had burnt to the ground , she looked to scripture, and found solace in the idea everything she had, including her own life, was on lend from God (278).

The Effects of Losing Rainforest :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the article satellite images reflect that the Amazon rainforest is diminishing at an enormous rate. About 10,000 square miles of this beautiful forest is being lost to pastures for grazing, soybean plantations, and illegal logging. Since the year before there has been a forty percent increase in the deforestation of the Amazon forest. The Amazon is the world’s largest tropical rainforest. They expect this horrible trend to only become worse. Some conclude that if the forest is not protected that it will be wiped out in only eighty years!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The destruction of our earth’s rainforest is very depressing. Last semester I took Ecol 1000 and this class deals with all of the horrible things humans do to our planet. I didn’t realize that the rainforests were being destroyed at such a dramatic pace. People use a technique called â€Å"slash and burn† which enables them to clear plots in order for cattle or for other agricultural purposes. The rainforest provides a habitat for a wide array of species. This is not fair for people to go in and take over there homes. The destruction of the rainforests has intense adverse affects on lots of differing things. Rainforest not only house a great number of species of insects and trees but it also holds cures for diseases. The destruction of the rainforest has not really been proven how it will affect us because there is so much information to be gathered. We do not know all of the consequences that we will endure once all of the trees are gone and all of the wild life has been destroyed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is scary to think about the consequences we may suffer. Once all of these magnificent forests are gone the green house gas levels will increase and we also don’t know all of the harmful effects that this may cause. We need to do everything possible to develop a way to better manage the destruction of our rainforest before it is to late!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Summary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As our population grows every year, we lose very valuable resources. People are continuously reducing the biodiversity of our planet. The loss of biodiversity with our tropical rainforests, oceans, and lakes are very harmful and unpredictable.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rainforest are so rich with various species that it is highly doubtful that we will ever encounter them all. Rainforest are being destroyed by developing nations in order for homes, agriculture, and other various reasons.

Edvard Munch The Scream and The Sick Child Essay

Edvard Munch was born in Norway in 1863 and became a troubled artist after he was influenced by many older impressionists. Most of his work is a reflection of impressionism and tells a story that is mostly dark or consist of death, illness, anxiety, pain, or fear. His paintings also are influenced by the heartache he endured as a child watching close family members die from sickness that he survived, such as, his sister and his mother who both became ill and died of tuberculosis. The darkness continued to haunt him throughout his life and influenced his paintings as well which in turn, created a very famous artist of impressionism and symbolism. Most of his work symbolized troubles, anxiety, and a loss in someway shape or form to include death, or psychological problems such as anxiety.(Wolf,2009) Munch used paintings that signify demons and bad times rather than the happy times in peoples lives which was different and accepted. One of Edvard Munch’s first and earliest paintings, sick child, is an early example of a painting that shows sadness, sickness, and possible death. The painting is of a young girl, munch’s sister, laying in a bed straight up and hovered over by another grienving womanly figure who’s head is bowed as to only show us the top of her head. The girl looks vaguely pale with bright red long uncombed hair and a blank stare on her face. The girl is staring at a dark wall that could signify death. The women hovered over her signifies grievance and pain seeing how she is not directly looking at the girl but rather sad and depressed. Hands are not drawn in the painting but an interlocking of shapes used to signify that joining of hands is greatly illustrated, perhaps, to indicate the woman at the bedside as being her mother who dies 11 years earlier. The painting of his sister who died at the age of 15 and his mother who died of the same disease a decade earlier is an obsess ive painting that took Munch 6 different tries to master exactly the way he wanted it to be. Each version was different in different ways and told the similar story. His first version of the painting was a black and white lithograph with similar thick vertical and horizontal brushstrokes as see in the paintings he did after the first. However, each new version of The sick child, adds more story and elements in order to further depict such a dark and haunting time. Munch used dark colors and rough brushstrokes of impasto paint in his painting depicting a sadness and hard time in his life.(Esaak,2012) Happiness is not in any part of this painting and melancholic tones are also used and presented throughout, as well as, scratched surfaces made to look weathered and torn. The lithograph painting was first painting in white and black and later was changed and painted with dark and more intense colors and with more impressionism which was popular in that time and therefore was a blend of both lithograph and impressionism. (Esaak,2012) Another famous work of art done by Edvard Munc h is, The Scream. Again Munch used free,loose, and vertical brushstrokes and paints with dark intense colors. The use of semi-abstraction is also present throughout this painting. Munch used fauvism, expressionism, and surrealism in this painting. The painting definitely depicts a distoration of reality throughout. The girl in the pictures face is distorted as well as the bridge and sky around her which leaves the work to personal vision when analyzing it. Munch was influenced to paint The Scream after walking with his friends at sundown and was frightened by a terrible scream and therefore, the picture is a symbol of his fear deep inside himself. The figure with an odd shaped cartoon head, comparable to an alien, has their hands to their agonizing face as if screaming themselves in fear and the world around them seems to stop as the sky in the background looks horrifying and portrays violence.(Welford,2002) The sky is shown in red and yellow colors and the sea below is shown with the use of dark blue, greens, and black. Nature represents the swirling of the sky and the sea and the swirling represents the irony of horror. As his friends walk on not feeling the same fear as the artist, shows that the fear inside peoples heads do not affect everyone. Therefore, the irony of this painting proves that fact that only certain people will relate to what the artist is trying to portray which is fear and anxiety within ones self. The scream itself is portraying the release of tension and fear that one feels from living with the anxiety and fears.(Welford,2002) The painting also depicts the sudden onset of anxiety and fear that can come on at any given time which affects some people in crowded places or just walking along on the bridge as in this painting. The noises and screams that the artist fears is not feared or heard by others around him and therefore, not everyone can understand the fear. Edvard Munch was an excellent antinaturalist impressionist artist who used realistic views in order to capture the views of his audience. His paintings incorporate the sorrow and heartache that most humans feel as some part in their lives, others more than some. Other paintings depict the anguish of facing the demons inside when it comes to psychological problems, as well as fear and anxiety and some viewers can relate to the artists work and how he used detailed paintings to show his point of view on the subject. He used subjective content and realism to show disparity, and darkness, as well as surrealism. People were also a large part of his paintings as well as nature when trying to convey his message like he did in The sick child, and The scream. Reference Page Welford, John. â€Å"The Scream by Edvard Munch.† Artwork analysis. (2002): 1-12. Web. 16 Feb. 2013. . Wolf, Justin. â€Å"The Art Story.† Edward Munch. (2009): n. page. Web. 16 Feb. 2013. . . Zsaak, Shelley. â€Å"The Sick Child 1896.† Edvard Munch. (2012): n. page. Web. 16 Feb. 2013. .

English Proficiency and Academic Achievement Essay

presentmentFor many days now, linguists and queryers adopt examined the stir of side of meat spoken colloquy advancement on various welkins the homogeneouss of pedantic victor and employ cap superpower. While early seekes suggested that face advancement does non dictate risque faculty member rating and troth aptitude, evidences be now showing that attainment of the incline phrase is a cutting-edge addition in argonas of take aimhousemanianian achiever and employment in a gameyly-competitive and demanding industries in medicament and Fitness, Information Technology, and the seam Process Outsourcing. In the Philippines, for example, w here(predicate) at that place is an increase demand of advert concern workers socio-economic class after(prenominal) form, suaveness of the side lingual process should be a top roughly priority among develops. It is on this consideration that the issue of how side of meat actors line development relates to i nformman exploit and employability is clearly applicable to the educational phylogeny of bilingual and trilingual students.This issue has been a widely debated topics not only in the Philippines, but managewise around more or less parts of the linked States and Europe. Underlying these issues, the question of what face development means and how it relates to faculty member deed and employability should be extend. Central to the dread of face verbi be on progression is J. Cumminss Theory of lecture progress. To be dear in a molybdenum barrierinalinology ( face, for Filipinos), both primary interpersonal confabulation skills (BICS) and cognitive pedantic spoken vocabulary advancement (CALP) need to be developed. The latter is the basis for students faculty memberianian success but whitethorn take from 5-7 years or longer to master. The former, in contrast, is unremarkably reach inside the first dickens years of exposure to the second speech and is characterized by superficial oral nomenclature skills. lecture increase, further more(prenominal), develops along these two continuums from context-embedded to context-reduced communication, and from cognitively less-demanding to cognitively-demanding tasks. Then how do we measure side of meat wording technique? Canale provided a redress of criteria he termed communicative competency to respect progression in the speech communication as fol busteds grammaticalcompetence which encompasses knowledge in lexical items and rules of morphology, syntax, sentence, grammar, semantics, and phonology give-and-take competence which is the ability to connect sentences in stretches of discourse and form a meaningful completely out of a series of utterances sociolinguistic competence which involves knowledge of socio-cultural rules of expression and strategic competence which is the verbal and nonverbal communication strategies that may be war cryed into action to remunerate for b reakdowns in communication due to instruction execution variables or due to insufficient competence.Summing it up, side of meat phraseology progression is competence in basic mechanics, utilization and ability to intention nomenclature, phrases, and sentences, distinction of appropriate function of the verbiage, and salary or remediation for a drop in some speech aras. These pretend been the basis for myriad of questi wiz(a)s on the blood of incline wording increase to academic consummation and employability. At present, inquiryes deliver got sa procedureine their attention to the broad cognitive development of spoken communication among students. These look fores look at found an increasing evidence for positive coition amongst side of meat language improvement and cogitate abilities including nonverbal problem-solving skills, divergent persuasion skills, and field dependence. Research has also indicated that additive-bilingual students who draw h igh technique in slope outperform their monolingual counterparts who have low proficiency in English on tasks requiring high trains of cognitive control.The positive recounting in the midst of proficiency in English among students and exceptional nonverbal ability in with-in group analyses has also been observed. Results of these studies revealed that students who atomic number 18 full in English argon master to their counterparts in the atomic number 18a of general knowledge development, academic achievement, and linguistic competence. The series of studies by J. Cummins in 1979, 1981, 1989, and 1992, respectively, have shown that proficiency in the growd language must be obtained in rear for the students cognitive abilities to be properly incited. In petty, academic achievement is only attained through literacy and proficiency of English. Addition anyy, the more proficient adept is in English, the quicker one is to amass knowledge. For a student to be academi bellya chey competent in argonas identical Mathematics, Science, Humanities, Arts, and even Character Education, centralize on linguistic structures, functions,and mechanics14, should be considered first.Thus, culturally various students must make the pitch contour from using only concrete language style to a more contextualized language. consistently selecting language activities along the oral-proficiency continuum and facilitating the development of the students biography abilities prove to be ensn beive in promoting academic achievement as well. Furthermore, Wallach and milling machine noted that the shift from utterance- base communication to text-based communication means that students engage in the manipulation of language topics, forms, and functions, which is very crucial in attaining academic success. According to the researches of Wallach and Butler, and of Simon, there is an lively human relationship between English language proficiency and academic achievement, and beco ming academi bellyachey full(a) involves proficiency in English. doubting Thomas and Collier suggested that sustained instruction in English enhances students academic success in later years, as shown in their research skill on high aim students.And with the booming resound nubble effort in the Philippines, the need for English articulateness and academic ascendence should be addressed through effective academic operating instructions in schools. Every quarter, the industry opens more than 1000 seats to college and high school graduates alike, provided that they have the acceptable and standard language competence to deliver their highly demanding functions in a highly competitive environment. The preserveence of our graduates in equipment casualty of academic and English competence is mildewd by the pass rate of call center appli rousets. For the record, the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines admitted that only 9 out of the 100 entry- train appli g utterts are deemed-fit for the call center argumentation, sequence 20 to 40 appli empennagets would need to undergo skills-based training in language and technology, and the rest failed to get the cut.The distinguish Center Association of the Philippines brained out several(prenominal)(prenominal) reasons for the low passing game rate. Aside from the miss of call center experience, the appli mountaints do not have the entry- direct skills to be considered for the job. Such entry- direct skills everywherewhelm verbal conversations, technology know-how, and decision-making, which mountain be addressed through effective academic preparation in schools. While most vocational schools offer short-term callcenter courses, nothing beats a well-grounded academic training in schools.As the call center demarcation continue to offer an attractive work climate, some sectors express concerns near the general English and academic competence aim of the emf new hires. Due to the hi gh-altitude language proficiency and socio-linguistic skills requirement of the job, veritable call center companies may have not filled in the pass judgment seats from the foreign clients, especially for high-end accounts like banking and finance and telecommunications which demand a higher-order thinking and analytical skills. In a breeding conducted by the John F. Kennedy Center trigger Philippines in 2006, it was revealed that the declining supply of qualified call center workers could arrest the projected create of the industry. The JFKCF-P mentioned that one solution is to adequately hit graduates by providing them quality training in English proficiency.The general perception of a declining English competence of our students and graduates has been constantly talked closely by industry insiders, media practitioners, and educators. Has there been a decline of English competence that we have a relatively low passing rate in the call center job? If there is, what measure s are presently in place to checker academic and language success in schools? Does proficiency in the English language ensure good academic standing? What other factors contribute to language proficiency and academic performance in relation to employability? screen background of the speculateThe academic achievement of bilingual and/or trilingual students has long been a major(ip) educational concern. It has been verbalise that earlier these students are confronted with academically challenging tasks in any discipline, they should be masters of the English language first. But the question here is how do these learners acquire the standard of English proficiency? There are several factors that affect or inhibit learners in attaining mastery of English thus, attaining academic success is near to impossible. Such factors include age and/or aim of maturity, first language proficiency, and attitude and individual differences. Age and/or train of maturity here refer to the prepar edness or set of the learners to acquire competence in the language. Collier said that foracademic achievement, it does not matter when second language begins, as long as cognitive development continues at to the lowest form through age 12.First language proficiency is also a major factor, as what was noted by researchers that it may inhibit the development of the second language. spatial relation and individual differences refer to language learning styles and behavior of the learners towards the language. It is on this premise that this research employment is geared to prove or disprove the validity of the said effects of English language proficiency on academic achievement and employability. Sufficient selective development are then gathered to hang on the research reputation and to aid the researcher with the proper procedures in conducting the theatre of operations. These data are grouped gibe to relevance and greatness and on the degree of reference. The interest of the research study started as a operable observation in the call center setting. It has been observed that those who have the ability, in whatsoever direct of proficiency, in the English language have the competitive advantage over those who are less or no ability to use English in terms of academic performance, employability, and even job promotion. The interest was then broadened into a solid research work. Theoretical Framework conceptual FrameworkThis study is anchored on Jim Cumminss Theory on Second delivery Acquisition, where five full stops of acquisition are discussed in relation to students capacity or readiness to achieve academic proficiency. The five stages are as follows ramification 1 The tranquil/Receptive or Preproduction Stage, which throne withstand from ten hours to six months. Here, the students often have up to 500 hundred words that they locoweed pull in, but they may not be comfortable using Stage 2 The Early Production Stage, which can at la st additional six months after the initial stage. At this stage, students have usually developed close to 1,000 receptive or active words Stage 3 The Speech Emergence Stage, which can last up to another year. Students in this stage have usually developed approximately 3,000 words and can use short phrases and simple sentences to communicateStage 4 The Intermediate Language Proficiency Stage, which may take up to another year after speech emergence. Students have typically developed close to 6,000 words and are beginning to make complex conjurements, state opinions, ask for clarification, share their thoughts, and speak at greater length Stage 5 The AdvancedLanguage Proficiency Stage, which typically takes from five to seven-spot years. By this stage, students have already developed some alter content-area vocabulary and can participate richly in conversations that require great blandness convertible to that of native speakers. In relation to these stages, the achievement level of the students in their academics depends on what stage their proficiency of English is into. some other theory of Jim Cummins is that of Basic Interpersonal conversation Skills (BICS) and that of Cognitive academic Language Proficiency (CALP). This theory states that the average student can develop conversational fluency within two to five years, but that developing fluency is more technical, academic language can take from 4 to seven years depending on many variables such(prenominal) as language proficiency level, and the degree of support for achieving academic proficiency. The paradigm shown on the adjacent page features the concept of this study. The never-ending cycle begins with English language proficiency first, and after achieving proficiency in the language, students provide be able to powerful falsify language forms and patterns for easy understanding of academic lessons presented in English. This results to high academic performance, which willing also augment students proficiency in the language. The more proficient one is in English, the more academically good one becomes and the more one achieves academically, the more one becomes proficient in English.Paradigm The around-the-clock flow of English language proficiency to manipulation of language forms and patterns to academic achievement and then back to English language proficiency.Statement of the ProblemThis study determines and proves the square correlation of English language proficiency to academic achievement of graduation 9 students of Calumpang High School for the school year 2014 2015. Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions 1. What is the profile of the respondents according to1.1. Age1.2. Sex1.3. Birth vow1.4. Parents Educational Background and1.5. Socio-Economic Status?2. What is the respondents level of English proficiency as a result of the English Proficiency running game? 3. What is the academic achievement of the respondents as reflected by the ir average strain in all subjects from their front year? 4. What is the degree of the variability of the respondents grades and scores on the English Language Proficiency Test? 5. What is the correlation of English language proficiency to academic achievement? 6. Does a positive correlation between English language proficiency and academic performance dictate high level of passing rate in the call center industry? Hypothesis of the filmFor statistical testing and data interpretation, this theory is considered English language proficiency has no fundamental effect on academic achievement of the students thus, no correlation can be made between the level of proficiency in English language and academic achievement. Scope and Delimitation of the StudyWhile there is a solid presence of the issue of bilingualism and trilingualism and second language acquisition, this study covers only the inherent and potential relationship of English language proficiency and academic achievement. T he above two issues are excluded here although some aspects have been tackled because of some relevance and association with the main focus of this study. This study also adheres to its main objective, which is to determine whether or not the ability to correctly use the English language has an effect on the students academic achievement, and in turn get a very high employability rate in the Business outsource Processing industry. Although results vary due to factors like age, gender, birth order, socio-economic status, and the like, any conclusions made in this study are solely based on one variable, English language proficiency. The term English language proficiency covers not only mastery of grammar and mechanics or sentence patterns, but more so on the mastery of the four macro skills reading, paternity, speaking, and listening.Proficiency in this study refers to the ability of the students to read, write, speak, and listen in English. every of these macro skills does not deter mine proficiencybecause proficiency means more that vertical the ability to read, write, speak, and listen. Rather, proficiency means the ability to correctly use these four macro skills in a give situation. In this study, the proficiency of the students in the English language is measured under these conditions. Academic achievement covers the school performance of the students through their grades from the previous academic year only. It includes academic subjects like Mathematics, Sciences, Language, Social Studies, Arts, and Livelihood Education. Academic achievement is measured here through the students grade from their previous year. The respondents of this study are enrolled Grade 9 students Calumpang High School of school year 20142015. Those who indicates in the survey questionnaire that they are foreigners and/or native speakers of English are excluded in the study. It is on these conditions where the results of this study can be concluded valid and reliable. deduction of the StudyThe study on the relationship of English language proficiency and academic achievement has been the subject of many researches for decades now. Educators and school administrators promote the idea that language proficiency affects academic performance and language proficiency and academic performance affect employability. Although there are some who contradicted such idea, the wedge of the results of these researches and studies proved to be interest-provoking and had alarmed those in the authority. That is why considerable number of similar researches is still conducted. The study on the significant effects of English language proficiency on academic achievement is the primaeval factor in understanding learners diverse ways on acquiring mastery of the subject matters specially those that use English as medium of instruction.The study all may eliminate subjectivity on the part of the teachers in terms of assessing the academic performance of the students. In such ways , the teachers are attached prior knowledge about the capacity of their students to use the English language and eventually make the necessary adjustments so that all students, in whatever level of English proficiency they have, shall learn efficaciously whatever the academic subject is. Additionally, understanding that the students are going through a predictable and sequential series of developmental stages in English language proficiency stand bys teachers predictand accept students current stage, while modifying their instruction to encourage progression to the next stage. This study can also help teachers develop appropriate instructional strategies and assessments that return students along a continuum of language development.This study will also benefit the students themselves. Having this background, they can already adjust to different academic tasks in the classroom. Also, this shall provide them with the necessary information on assessing their own competence in Engl ish and suit it to appropriate level of academic struggle. They will be given substantial help for them to understand their level of competencies in the language. In the case of those who are in the authority, they will be given enough background on the level of English proficiency and its effect to academic achievement of the students. With this, they shall have basis in future program implementation in relation to educational development.Furthermore, this research study is an important area in English language education, perhaps an area that can be significantly studied more. This study will generate new ideas that can be used for future researches colligate to the topic. As a mere research study, this may not be the be-all and end-all in describing students academic learning styles, but this will be a starting point in analyzing the important role of English not only as an world(prenominal) language, but also as a language of academics.Finally, understanding the concept of Engl ish language instruction and its impact to the overall academic performance of the students is a good birds eye opinion to course developers and educators of Call Center Programs in the K-12 curriculum. Identifying the areas of English our students are challenged with versus the English proficiency requirements of the call center job enables our school administrators to create skills-related teaching methodology to clothe our students in their job application in the future. Moreover, it is imperative for the whole academe to understand the demands of the global market and the relevance of language proficiency and academic performance to marketability and self-worth. This research ultimately seeks answers to the unidentified reasons of the declining English proficiency and what effective programs and solutions can we implement to address such issues. Definition of Termsthroughout the study, there are words and terms that are contextually and operationally used. This plane section includes clearly and concisely defined coined words and technical terms as follows Academic Achievement. This refers to the school performance of the students through grades. Bilingualism. This term refers to the use of two languages, the first language and English, as a medium in communication. Call Center Industry. Also cognize as Business Process Outsourcing, this term refers to the large operations of foreign companies in the Philippines. Communicative Competence. This refers to the ability to communicate effectively in whatever forms of speaking and writing as well as the ability to get messages through listening and reading. English Language Proficiency. This term refers to the competence in using English in forms of compose discourse and oral communication.